Message-ID: <199612310519.AAA11109@jericho.american.edu> Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 00:19:43 -0500 From: Yvonne Sobers <mailto:asante@COLIS.COM> Subject: Re: Escalating philosophising To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
At 04:58 PM 12/30/96 -0500, Steve Eskow wrote:>But, Yvonne, isn't it equally true that millions--even more millions--have
>been wasted on projects designed by those affected--projects which turned out
>to be no more successful than those designed by the outsiders, the
>prejudgers?
Could you give me an example, Steve, of a project that was designed by those affected and proved to be no more successful than a comparable project designed by outsiders? I do not envision an either/or situation: project design either by outsiders or by those affected. I suggest a collaborative approach: programme design resulting from clarity of purpose, joint inquiry and exploration, joint action and programme evaluation in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
>In your view, what kind of aid, or help, or expertise, or relationships, or
>education would be of most use to your country at this moment in its history?
I suggest some questions that can provide guidelines for providing help that is helpful:
1. What situation do you want to change, and why? Who sees the problem? Who owns the problem? Who benefits from the situation remaining as it is? Who is threatened by the change? Who stands to benefit most from the change?
2. What is your concept of development? Top-down? Bottom-up? Community-initiated? Outsider-directed? Driven by private/public sectors? Driven by NGOs? How do you define, within the context of the given situation, commonly-used terms such as sustainable development, or human development?
2. Who are all the stakeholders in the situation? Who is initiating change? Do some stakeholders need to be persuaded of the value of the change? What are the marketing approaches of the donors? Do all stakeholders have a common understanding of the issues? Who has what agenda? What are the formal and informal organizations that can retard/accelerate change?
2. Exactly what will the ideal situation look/feel like? How will this ideal situation impact on existing systems? Will the environment and culture support this ideal situation?
3. What principles guide your thought and action? What similarities/differences exist in the values and cultural norms of stakeholders? Whose values predominate in the event of a conflict? Does money dictate direction and skew principle?
4. What is the immediate solution intended to accomplish in the long run? Which is likely to be more effective - a project approach or a programme approach? A short-term involvement with tangible, quantifiable outcomes such as water supply, a building, a bridge? A long-term commitment to a process that may not produce immediate results, and may have outcomes that may be qualitative as well as quantitative?
5.What will this situation look like when you achieve what you set out to do? Exactly how will it be different from what is presently experienced? Do all stakeholders share the same goals? Are expectations shared? What assumptions are being made by different stakeholders?
6. What will tell you are on your way? What milestones will you reach along the way? What will tell you that you are on or off course? How will all stakeholders be involved in setting and monitoring evaluation criteria?
7. Who will do what? How do you strengthen the organizational capacity of individuals and groups? How will you structure activities so that all stakeholders undertake responsibility for the success of the programme? What levels of participation are required? What training/incentives are provided so that you enable stakeholders to undertake the responsibilities that are assigned to them? How will you build consensus among stakeholders? How will you reduce jealousies and power play among stakeholders?
9. What do stakeholders need to have so as to achieve goals and objectives? What tools and resources do they already have? What level of technology is objectively assessed as most appropriate? What are the skills, knowledge, attitudes of stakeholders? What training is needed in support of the programme? What is to be the financial contribution of various stakeholders? How are external funds to be matched by local revenue and resources?
10. What is the likely effect of the external environment on the programme? What might be the impact of the media, the culture, the economy, the labour market, political organizations, religious organizations, pressure groups, educational institutions, traditional gender/class roles, patterns of crime and violence?
11. What are the predominant feelings and emotions of stakeholders? What has been the impact of past experiences? What are the fears? On what issues are stakeholders likely to prejudge rather than explore, inquire and discover?
12. In general, what forces are likely to support/oppose the programme? What strategies can be used to build support and minimize opposition?
The stakeholders, all who have a stake in changing the existing situation, need to invest time in answering these questions. In my practice, I facilitate retreats at which leaders of stakeholding groups are able (often in a slow, painful process of negotiation) to balance insider/outsider positions. The more successful programmes occur where those most affected gain confidence in their ability to influence what happens to them, and the outsiders gain new insights, knowledge, and experiences.
Yvonne ============================================================================ ========